Los Angeles – La La Land

Los Angeles – La La Land

We were very lucky to find Miles on iOverlander (our trusty app). He has a yard just outside Chinatown in downtown LA and is willing to let international overlanders stayover whilst visiting the city. It was a great location! The number 45 bus stopped right outside (in both directions) and this conveyed us into Chinatown and on to the metro network. Thank you Miles!

So what did we do in LA? Francine’s ‘must see’ list included the Hollywood sign, the Warner Bros studio tour and the hand prints at the entrance to the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Dave wanted to visit Santa Monica and the Griffiths Observatory.

Against advice from the locals (who had never actually taken a bus or the metro) we used the public transport system to get around and found it to be punctual, clean and well policed.

Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Walk of Fame

Our good friend from Abu Dhabi and Scottish Country Dancing, Andrea, now resident in LA, showed us around the Tar Pits, Rodeo Drive, the Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Husband Anthony joined us for a dinner downtown. LA is very spaced out we were very grateful that Andrea ferried us around in her car.

First stop was the Tar Pits (no photos, we were too busy chatting and catching up) where we walked around the open pits that slowly deliver black sticky tar to the surface, bringing with it the remains of unfortunate beasts (dinosaurs etc) that once went for a one way paddle in ancient times. All in downtown LA!

Next was the Beverley Hills sign, where we had our obligatory picture taken, before walking Rodeo Drive to see where all the well-to-do people shop. At the end of Rodeo Drive is the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, instantly recognisable from Pretty Woman.

The Chinese Theatre’s forecourt has been imprinted with many actor’s hand prints and even foot prints. It was fun to compare our distal extremities’ sizes with those of the famous, some of whom had surprisingly tiny feet! We then walked down the Hollywood Boulevard of fame, recognising the names of famous actors, singers and even fictional characters on the pavement. Though no ceremonies were happening when we visited, there is a website that you can check to see when the next star is going to be placed, as they are constantly adding new ones.

The next day we visited the Angels Flight, one of the world’s shortest funicular railway journeys, in downtown LA and one of the places La La Land was filmed.

Warner Bros Tour

After a drive around the exterior of the studio buildings in a golf buggy, we were dropped off at the indoor exhibits which were good fun. We got to sit in the Friends set and Francine manged to sit on the end of the Big Bang couch without upsetting Sheldon. There were some more interactive exhibits which demonstrated how action sequences were filmed and also those which give a false perspective, for example to make a person look very big in comparison to the person sitting opposite (see our video).

Griffiths Observatory

The Griffiths Observatory is a beautiful old building located in a lovely hilltop park. The observatory had a number of attractions including a camera obscura, a tesla coil, a very large  Foucault pendulum that demonstrated the rotation of the earth and interesting film presentations. And there was a terrific view of the Hollywood sign from the observatory (tick).

Santa Monica

Taking the metro down to the coast to explore Santa Monica pier and its surroundings, we watched as skateboarders threw themselves down the famous “Triple Set” of stairs, with the aim of winning $100 for each successful jump. The success rate was a little under 5%, but the boarders seemed resilient to their falls and just got back up and climbed the stairs, ready for the next jump (see our video).

We enjoyed our own version of La La Land, joining the friendly Scottish country dancers in South Pasadena for their weekly class.